Category Archives: ADF in the News

Alan Sears at Alliance Defending Freedom: This week, and for the next several weeks, I’d like to ask you and your family to be in particular, faithful, fervent prayer for the future of your nation and for the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court as they rule on two major cases related to the legal definition of marriage in America.

Jordan Lorence at Speak Up Movement: Controversy continues to swirl around an anti-Israel “BDS” event at Brooklyn College on February 7, in which police removed four Jewish students from the event advocating for “BDS,” which is “boycott [of], divestment [from] and sanctions [against])” Israel. School officials are now investigating the removal, according to an article in the Jewish Daily Forward.

Matt Sharp at Alliance Defending Freedom: We often underestimate children. We think they understand less than they do and that they are incapable of having their own thoughts or views. Schools often make the same mistake and use a child’s age to justify restrictions on their speech. We have been involved in numerous cases where schools restricted young students from handing out invitations to church events or sharing their faith at school.

Statesman.com: In December, conservative groups Texas Values and the Alliance Defending Freedom submitted a brief to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott asking that his office find the Pflugerville district and other government entities in violation of the state constitution.

Salisbury Post: Attorney David Gibbs III of the National Center for Life and Liberty will defend the Rowan County commissioners’ use of sectarian prayer, and he won’t charge the county for doing so . . . Sides said other organizations, like the Alliance Defending Freedom and the American Center for Law and Justice, are expected to file supplemental briefs in support of the county.

Chuck Norris at Townhall: t’s Holy Week, but what’s not so holy is the assault on religious liberty in the U.S. Religious liberty has been called rightly America’s “first freedom,” not only because the right is contained in the First Amendment but also because it predates the U.S. and has its origin in God, not government, and the freedoms he endowed within us . . . A social service worker at a Minnesota senior living complex banned an elderly resident, in the Alliance Defending Freedom’s words, “from praying, reading her Bible, and discussing her faith in private conversations with other residents in the commons area.”

MSNBC: “Justices aware of shift in national attitudes on same-sex marriage”
Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom talks about Tuesday’s arguments on Proposition 8 and describes the mood inside the court hearing.

CNN (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

WPTV (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group.
“We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Mainline Media News (text of the chat at the link): Join a moderated discussion at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, March 25, about Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Joining Bay Area News Group legal affairs writer Howard Mintz will be Byron Babione, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is helping defend Proposition 8 and supports the federal Defense of Marriage Act; and Christopher Stoll, a staff attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

OzarksFirst.com: “The big question going before the Supreme Court is whether or not the Supreme Court should impose a 50-state solution upon this entire country regarding the debate surrounding marriage,” says Austin Nimocks, with the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Baptist Press: Afterward, a co-counsel for Prop 8′s supporters said they have been asking the same question as Scalia.”At what point in time did marriage, this cornerstone of civilization and the bedrock of our society, all of a sudden become unconstitutional? And we don’t believe obviously it ever has,” Austin Nimocks, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, told Baptist Press. “We believe Americans have the constitutional right to uphold, support and defend marriage as it has always been. And so we certainly are hopeful that the Supreme Court agrees with us.”

Tampa Bay Times (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” Austin Nimocks of the Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom said Sunday on CNN.

KTLA 5 (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

WPTV.com (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group.
“We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Fox2Now.com: “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process,” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Fox 31 Denver (includes video): Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process, ” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks said. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Christian Institute: Alliance Defending Freedom, another group which supports traditional marriage, says gay marriage should not be imposed by the court. A spokesman said: “Californians and Congress voted for marriage, and the court should respect the freedom to affirm society’s fundamental building block. “Marriage between a man and a woman is a bedrock social institution that diverse cultures and faiths have honored throughout the history of Western Civilization. “The freedom of the people to affirm this vital institution should not be taken away.”

Howard Mintz of San Jose Mercury News via The Saratogian: Jim Campbell, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, which backs Proposition 8, stresses the political battle over gay marriage is “at some point in the middle. … The Supreme Court should resist demands to prematurely end the national debate.”

One News Now: Attorney Jim Campbell with Alliance Defending Freedom: “The importance of these cases and what’s at stake is whether the people throughout this country can continue to affirm marriage as we’ve always known it as a union of a man and a woman – or whether a court, through legal decisions, will redefine marriage for all of society.” [more ]

MPRNews (includes audio): Those defending Proposition 8 point out that the citizens of California have twice, since 2000, voted to ban same-sex marriage. “We are claiming that the Supreme Court should not try to remove the decision on the future of marriage from the hands of the people, that the people are sovereign, that they do have a right to maintain marriage as one man and one woman,” says Austin Nimocks, counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, one of the groups involved in defending Proposition 8.

Clark S. Judge at Human Events: In Windsor, I counted 89 submissions, in Perry 100. I may have missed a few and I am only counting those since the Court said it would hear the cases. I am guessing that …

More information here.

Travis C. Barham at Speak Up Movement: After over six years of litigation, Mike Adams has won the right to present his retaliation case to a jury of his peers. Back in 2006, he was denied promotion to full professor at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.

Lowell Sun: Listed in the court docket as having filed briefs so far are: the Acton School System, John Doe (the atheist family that filed the lawsuit and wishes to remain anonymous), American Humanist Association, Daniel and Ingrid Joyce, the Knights of Columbus, the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Massachusetts Family Institute.

CBS video includes Austin R. Nimocks.

Baptist Press on Opposing Views: Alliance Defending Freedom, a religious liberty legal group based in Arizona, filed a lawsuit against Eastern Michigan University on behalf of a student group that was denied university funding for an exhibit that compares abortion to other historically recognized forms of genocide, according to a report on the Detroit Free Press website.

Fox & Hounds Daily: (Editor’s Note: California’s Proposition 8 banning gay marriage has its day in court tomorrow when the United States Supreme Court takes up the case. CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley, hosted a debate on the issue between California Attorney General Kamala Harris and vice president for Marriage Litigation at Alliance Defending Freedom, Austin Nimocks. A transcript of the debate follows.) Link to CNN video here.

CBS: “The big question going before the Supreme Court is whether or not the Supreme Court should impose a 50-state solution upon this entire country regarding the debate surrounding marriage,” Austin Nimocks with the Alliance Defending Freedom told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “It’s about fundamentally altering society,” Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told CBS’ “Face the
Nation.”

CNN via WYFF4.com : “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process, ” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks told CNN’s State of the Union. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.” | KSAT.com carries a related CNN video report that includes Austin R. NImocks.

Heritage Foundation: What’s at stake in the marriage debate? Why does marriage matter for public policy? What would be the consequences of redefining marriage? Ryan T. Anderson, author of an amicus brief submitted to the Supreme Court on the marriage cases, Kellie Fiedorek, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, and Doug Mainwaring, co-founder of National Tea Party Patriots and a gay man against redefining marriage will speak on the legal, policy, and cultural issues at the heart of these cases.

Politico: The continuing battle over gay marriage shouldn’t be equated with the civil rights movement, Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal organization, argued Sunday. “We understand historically that keeping the races apart is wrong. What marriage is about is bringing together the two opposite halves of humanity for a deep social good,” Nimocks said on CNN’s “State of the Union”.

Geoffrey Fowler at WSJ via Yahoo News: “What we don’t need at this juncture of a very young and significant debate on marriage is the Supreme Court presenting the nation with a 50-state solution that redefines marriage and removes the question from the hands of the people,” said Austin R. Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, who is one of the lawyers defending California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage.

CNN (includes video): “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process, ” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks told CNN’s State of the Union. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

Mercury News: Join Mintz at noon Monday for an online chat with Byron Babione, counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group defending Proposition 8, and Chris Stoll, staff attorney with National Center for Lesbian Rights at www.mercurynews.com | Follow the chat here.

World: Steve Jordahl is a reporter for The World and Everything in It. Mary Reichard is a legal affairs correspondent for The World and Everything in It. She spoke with two lawyers who filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of DOMA and Proposition 8: Jim Campbell of Alliance Defending Freedom and Lori Windham of The Becket Fund.

MyDesert.com (includes video): Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal ministry that is helping to defend Prop. 8 on behalf of ProtectMarriage.com, outlined its rebuttals to the plaintiffs’ arguments in a final brief submitted Tuesday to the Supreme Court. “The wisest course is for the court to resist demands to prematurely end the national debate over the future of marriage,” senior counsel Austin R. Nimocks said in a release. “Advocates for redefining marriage should not be allowed to sidestep the democratic process to accomplish their political objectives.” (web page 7)

Jennifer Marshall at Heritage Foundation: But we have continued to give unique status in law to the union of a man and a woman—the only relationship that produces children—as a permanent, monogamous, and exclusive relationship. We uphold this ideal in the interest of children, of limited, constitutional government, and of America’s future. That’s a message Heritage will convey at an event today featuring Ryan Anderson, Kellie Fiedorek of the Alliance Defending Freedom, and tea party activist Doug Mainwaring, a gay man committed to maintaining the definition of marriage because of its importance for children. Tomorrow, we’ll be joining many other Americans gathering on the National Mall for the March for Marriage.

WGNTV.com Chicago: “Our most fundamental right in this country is the right to vote and the right to participate in the political process, ” said Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian advocacy group. “We don’t need the Supreme Court to take that right away from Americans of good faith on both sides of this issue and impose its judicial solution,” Nimocks told CNN’s State of the Union. “We need to leave this debate to the democratic process, which is working.”

NBC Nightly News reports on the litigation. Alliance Defending Freedom Attorney Austin R. Nimocks appears in the video.

Heritage Foundation (includes video): hose pressing the Supreme Court to overturn the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 essentially argue that marriage as we’ve always known it is not constitutional. But redefining marriage would make marriage about the desires of adults rather than the well-being of children. That was the takeaway from a media briefing Tuesday at the National Press Club featuring Heritage’s Ryan T. Anderson, Claremont Institute legal scholar John C. Eastman, and Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Austin R. Nimocks (who is also co-counsel in the Prop 8 case).

The News-Herald: Jim Campbell, a lawyer for Alliance Defending Freedom, which backs Proposition 8, stresses the political battle over gay marriage is “at some point in the middle. … The Supreme Court should resist demands to prematurely end the national debate.”

Warren Richey of Christian Science Monitor on Yahoo News: “We don’t think this debate should be prematurely ended by a decree from this court or any other court,” says Austin Nimocks, sen-ior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which supports the traditional definition of marriage. “We are asking the Supreme Court to continue to allow communities to go through that [political] process and continue to debate the meaning of marriage, its impact on those communities, and how it should be defined.”

Christian Post: CBS’ “Face the Nation” came the closest to providing a balanced view. The discussion had three people in favor of same-sex marriage, NFL football player Brendon Ayanbadejo, Freedom to Marry’s Evan Wolfson and conservative columnist David Frum, and two people opposed to same-sex marriage, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins and Alliance Defending Freedom’s Austin Nimocks. Host Bob Schieffer, though, did a better job than his colleagues at providing both sides about equal time. Also unlike the hosts on the other networks, Schieffer provided Nimocks and Perkins adequate time to present their arguments without interruption.

Religion Link: The Alliance Defense Fund opposes same-sex marriage and efforts to circumvent DOMA. Contact 480-444-0020 or email through the website.

Ypsilanti Carrier: Eastern Michigan University has been sued by the Alliance Defending Freedom after a student group was denied funding to create an exhibit comparing abortions to the Holocaust, according to a Detroit Free Press report. Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian group in Arizona, filed the lawsuit Tuesday.

Oakville.com: ”Groups like the U.S.-based Alliance Defending Freedom, says Paradis, have established a foothold in Europe to advocate strongly against abortion and LGBT rights.“The problem for national LGBT activists is that if they raise the human rights argument that has been so powerful in America, it gets thrown back in their faces — ‘You are just part of the western world, forcing outside values on us,’” she says.

The Eastern Echo: David Hacker, senior legal counsel for the ADF, said in the release, “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations, but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely on its viewpoint.”

WFAA.com: CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.; Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry; Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council; Austin Nimocks, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom; Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo, an advocate of same-sex marriage.

Greg Baylor at Speak Up Movement: The freedom of religious student groups at America’s public universities is under constant attack. However, the Virginia legislature is the latest to fight bac

CNN: “DOMA’s important because Congress said it’s important,” said Austin Nimocks, senior counsel at the legal ministry Alliance Defending Freedom. “We sent our elected representatives to Washington, D.C., and they chose to say that marriage is one man and one woman for purposes of federal law.”

Florida Baptist Witness: Kellie Fiedorek, litigation counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), said this is a time of “great peril” for religious adherents. In particular, business owners with religious convictions about business, marriage and family are the targets of attacks for refusing to violate their beliefs, she said. “You couldn’t expect an African-American photographer to take a picture of a family who is in the KKK, who is going to wear long white robes and pointy hats,” Fiedorek said. “Similarly, you couldn’t expect a Jewish … baker to bake a cake with swastikas on it and have it say, ‘Happy Birthday to Hitler.’”

LifeSiteNews: Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker in a statement. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

Mercury News: Join a moderated discussion at noon PDT on Monday, March 25, about Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Joining Bay Area News Group reporter Howard Mintz will be Byron Babione, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which is helping defend Proposition 8 and supports the federal Defense of Marriage Act; and Christopher Stoll, a staff attorney with the National Center for Lesbian Rights. (email reminder signup at the link)

Faith and Freedom Blog: Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Michael J. Norton, a former US Attorney says, “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard earned tax money is being funneled to groups who are misusing it.”

Washington Blade: Kelly Frederick [Fiedorek] of the Alliance Defending Freedom said marriage and civil unions for same-sex couples in Massachusetts, D.C. and Illinois “forced” Catholic Charities in the three jurisdictions “out of the adoption business because of their religious beliefs.”

Fox News: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

Family Research Council: ADF Senior Counsel Michael Norton said, “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it.” Regardless of how policymakers feel about abortion, they should all agree that Planned Parenthood should be held to the same standards as everyone else who takes government funds. If Planned Parenthood can’t be trusted with the money it already has, why should Congress agree to more?

Charisma News: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

Alan Sears at Alliance Defending Freedom: The dangers posed more and more across America to the First Amendment protections of Christians like you – and your children – often show themselves in subtle ways. A small legal bias here, an evasion of religious freedom there, and those who would sideline people of faith gain one more crucial foothold of legal ground they can use to block the spread of the Gospel.

Matthew J. Franck at National Review: At the Daily Beast and the Jewish Daily Forward, writer Jay Michaelson has been touting a “report” he has published this week under the auspices of a Massachusetts-based outfit calling itself Political Research Associates.  The product of a little research, a fevered imagination, and extremely sloppy thinking, Michaelson’s report is titled “Redefining Religious Liberty: The Covert Campaign Against Civil Rights.”  His targets are the “right-wing” groups making what he claims are dangerous and disingenuous arguments on behalf of religious freedom.  These groups include the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and the Alliance Defending Freedom, among others.

Carly Pildis at Policymic: The bill was inspired by the case of Julea Ward, who was expelled from Eastern Michigan University for refusing to counsel LGBT students. She sued the university with the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal group, with EMU agreeing to a settlement of $75,000.

The New American: ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton, a former U.S. Attorney, said it is high time the American people get some clear answers on Planned Parenthood funding. “Americans deserve to know, especially in economic times like these, if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” Norton said. “Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long. It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.”

9and10News (AP): The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defending Freedom on Tuesday filed the lawsuit in federal court in Detroit against the Ypsilanti school . . . David Hacker, an attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, says: “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas.” | See also Detroit Free Press: EMU sued over denial of funds for anti-abortion display

One News Now: In response, Alliance Defending Freedom‘s (ADF) Jeremy Tedesco tells American Family News his firm sent a letter to school districts in Illinois and Wisconsin last Friday, informing them that it is, in fact, constitutional to take advantage of the resources at the nearby church-run camp. “Freedom From Religion Foundation says Well, it’s a Christian-run camp; there’s Christian symbols up here and there reflecting this, and because of that, you can’t take them to this camp if you’re a public school,” the ADF attorney reports. “And that’s just blank hostility towards religion. The First Amendment doesn’t require that at all of public schools. It’s just a scare tactic from Freedom From Religion Foundation.”

Desert Sun (source: Detroit Free Press): Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona group that says it works to defend the civil rights of Christians and conservatives, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Detroit . . . “Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said David Hacker, attorney with the alliance.

LifeNews: Universities should encourage, not shut down, the free exchange of ideas,” said Senior Legal Counsel David Hacker. “The university funded the advocacy of other student organizations but singled out Students for Life for exclusion based purely upon its viewpoint.”

LifeSiteNews: Compliance with the law should not be sacrificed for the sake of Planned Parenthood’s bottom line. They have cheated the American taxpayer for too long,” said Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton, a former U.S. Attorney. “It’s time the abortion giant is held accountable.”

After addressing the meeting as being of RLP in Turkey and also bring a panel with the facts about the Civil Liberties fundamental for the world, (the example of Cuba, Venezuela, Pakistan, Presbyterian missionaries arrested in Senegal, among other news) , the Program Radio ANAJURE in the day received its second journalist correspondent LifeSiteNews, Matthew Hoffman, and Dr. Piero Tozzi (ADF / USA) who discussed errors and successes of the movement pro-life and pro-family in the U.S. and Brazil.

Christian Post: Austin Nimocks, an attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom who will serve as co-counsel defending Proposition 8 during oral arguments at the Supreme Court, agreed. “Those arguing for same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court are arguing that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right in the U.S. Constitution, which means that it is deeply rooted in our country’s history and traditions,” Nimocks said. “Our argument is very simple – that’s not true. “You can’t find in the history of our country and our Constitution a deeply rooted tradition and history of same-sex marriage. Marriage is what it has always been, since the beginning of time. The Supreme Court has acknowledged marriage 14 times in its prior jurisprudence. It has rejected a claim for same-sex marriage already, back in the 70s. And so, in no circumstances can our opponents make the constitutional case that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right in the U.S. Constitution.”

DFW Catholic: “Every American should be free to live and do business according to their faith,” said Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “The government shouldn’t punish people of faith for following their beliefs when making decisions for themselves or their organizations. That’s why this lawsuit should not be casually dismissed as the Obama administration would like to see happen.”

Steve Aden at Townhall: On March 15, the North Dakota senate approved a bill that prevents abortions from being performed once a developing child’s heartbeat is detected in the mother’s womb.